Electronic paper display and electronic equipment

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of electronic paper, and discloses an electronic paper display and electronic equipment, the electronic paper display comprises a first substrate, a second substrate and a filling particle layer between the first substrate and the second substrate, the first substrate is provided with a common electrode, and the second substrate is provided with a pixel electrode, the pixel electrode comprises a plurality of pixel electrode blocks which are arranged at intervals, gap areas are formed between the adjacent pixel electrode blocks, supplementary electrodes are arranged at the gap areas, each supplementary electrode is not connected with the adjacent pixel electrode block, and the supplementary electrodes and the common electrode are correspondingly arranged in the vertical direction. By arranging the supplementary electrodes between the pixel electrode blocks, flow of the filling particles is limited through the electric field between the supplementary electrodes and the common electrode, disordered flow of the filling particles is avoided, and then the electronic paper display has a good display effect. The invention also discloses electronic equipment comprising the electronic paper display.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of electronic paper, and in particular to electronic paper displays and electronic equipment. Background Art

[0002] The electronic paper structure usually includes upper and lower substrates that are arranged correspondingly, and conductive particles are filled between the upper and lower substrates. The display of the picture is realized by the arrangement of the conductive particles themselves. At the same time, upper and lower electrodes are respectively arranged on the surfaces of the upper and lower substrates to drive the conductive particles. In existing electronic papers, in order to limit the disordered flow of conductive particles, a retaining wall structure is usually set in the conductive particle layer, and the conductive particles are confined in a closed area by the retaining wall structure, thereby limiting the flow of conductive particles. However, this retaining wall structure cannot fully guarantee the airtightness due to problems with the process or actual coordination, and thus still causes some conductive particles to overflow, which has a certain impact on the overall display effect. Summary of the invention

[0003] The present invention aims to solve at least one of the problems in the background technology.

[0004] To this end, the first purpose of the present invention is to propose an electronic paper display and an electronic device, in which a supplementary electrode is arranged between pixel electrode blocks, so that the flow of filling particles is restricted by the electric field generated between the supplementary electrode and the common electrode, thereby avoiding the disordered flow of the filling particles, and thus making the electronic paper display have a good display effect.

[0005] A second objective of the present invention is to provide an electronic device comprising an electronic paper display.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, an electronic paper display is proposed according to an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, comprising a first substrate and a second substrate arranged opposite to each other in a vertical direction, a filling particle layer being arranged between the first substrate and the second substrate, a common electrode being arranged on the first substrate, and a pixel electrode being arranged on the second substrate, wherein the pixel electrode comprises a plurality of pixel electrode blocks arranged separately, a gap area being provided between the plurality of adjacent pixel electrode blocks, a supplementary electrode being provided in the gap area, each supplementary electrode being not connected to the adjacent pixel electrode block, and the supplementary electrode and the common electrode being arranged correspondingly in the vertical direction.

[0007] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of supplementary electrodes extend along the gap region, and patterns of the plurality of supplementary electrodes are evenly distributed in the gap region.

[0008] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the supplementary electrode is disposed in the gap region outside each pixel electrode block.

[0009] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a ratio of a width of the supplementary electrode to a width of the gap region is less than 0.5.

[0010] According to another embodiment of the present invention, it further includes an edge supplementary electrode, and a plurality of the supplementary electrodes are connected to the edge supplementary electrode.

[0011] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a partition wall is further included, wherein the top of the partition wall is in contact with the first substrate, and the bottom of the partition wall is overlapped on the supplementary electrode.

[0012] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the bottom of the partition wall covers the supplementary electrode.

[0013] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the partition wall is made of transparent insulating material.

[0014] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a color filter is disposed on the first substrate.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0016] The electronic paper display and electronic device of the embodiments of the present invention are characterized in that the electronic paper display is provided with a supplementary electrode between pixel electrode blocks, thereby limiting the flow of filling particles through the electric field generated between the supplementary electrode and the common electrode, avoiding the disordered flow of the filling particles, and thus making the electronic paper display have a good display effect.

[0017] Additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will be given in part in the following description and in part will be obvious from the following description, or will be learned through practice of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The accompanying drawings are only used to illustrate the embodiments and are not to be considered as limiting the present invention. In addition, the same reference symbols are used to represent the same components throughout the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings:

[0019] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an electronic paper display device in the prior art;

[0020] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an embodiment of an electronic paper display provided in the present application;

[0021] Figure 3 A cross-sectional schematic diagram of an embodiment of a second substrate of an electronic paper display provided in the present application;

[0022] Figure 4 A cross-sectional schematic diagram of an embodiment of a second substrate of an electronic paper display provided in the present application;

[0023] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of another embodiment of the electronic paper display provided by the present application;

[0024] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of another embodiment of the electronic paper display provided by the present application;

[0025] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of another embodiment of the electronic paper display provided by the present application;

[0026] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of an embodiment of an electronic device provided by the present application;

[0027] The meanings of the marks in the figure are:

[0028] 1. Electronic paper display device;

[0029] 11. upper substrate; 12. upper electrode; 13. lower substrate; 14. lower electrode; 15. electrophoretic layer;

[0030] 16. Electrophoretic particles; 17. Retaining wall structure;

[0031] 20. Electronic equipment;

[0032] 200, electronic paper display; 210, first substrate; 211, common electrode;

[0033] 2111, first region; 2112, second region; 212, color filter; 220, second substrate;

[0034] 221, pixel electrode block; 222, gap region; 223, supplementary electrode;

[0035] 224, edge supplementary electrode; 230, filling particle layer; 231, filling particles; 240, partition wall. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and cannot be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0037] In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

[0038] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0039] To illustrate the electronic paper display and electronic device provided by the present application, the following is a detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the textual description of the embodiments.

[0040] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of an electronic paper display device 1 in the prior art.

[0041] like Figure 1 As shown, the electronic paper display device 1 includes an upper substrate 11 and a lower substrate 13, and an electrophoretic layer 15 is arranged between the upper substrate 11 and the lower substrate 13, wherein an upper electrode 12 is arranged on a surface of the upper substrate 11 facing the lower substrate 13, and a lower electrode 14 is arranged on a surface of the lower substrate 13 facing the upper substrate 11. The electrophoretic layer 15 includes an electrophoretic liquid (not shown in the figure) and electrophoretic particles 16. Electricity is passed between the upper electrode 12 and the lower electrode 14 to generate an electric field to drive the electrophoretic particles 16 in the electrophoretic layer, and different display images are finally generated through the arrangement and combination of the electrophoretic particles 16. A retaining wall structure 17 is provided in the electrophoretic layer 15, and its two ends are respectively in contact with the upper substrate 11 and the lower substrate 13. The electrophoretic particles 16 are confined in each closed area by the retaining wall structure 17. However, due to the manufacturing process and the accuracy of the matching, there may be a gap at the position where the retaining wall contacts the upper substrate 11 or the lower substrate 13, which will cause the electrophoretic particles 16 in the closed area to overflow. In the long run, it may lead to different numbers of electrophoretic particles 16 in different closed areas, resulting in differences in the image effects displayed in different areas, which in turn has a greater impact on the overall imaging.

[0042] Reference below Figure 2-Figure 7 An electronic paper display 200 according to an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention is described.

[0043] Figure 2 FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an electronic paper display 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0044] According to another embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2As shown, the electronic paper display 200 includes a first substrate 210 and a second substrate 220 arranged opposite to each other in the vertical direction, that is, the edges of the first substrate 210 and the second substrate 220 can overlap or substantially overlap in the vertical direction. Further, a filling particle layer 230 is arranged between the first substrate 210 and the second substrate 220, and the filling particle layer 230 includes at least one conductive filling particle 231. Specifically, a common electrode 211 is arranged on the first substrate 210, and a pixel electrode is arranged on the second substrate 220, wherein the pixel electrode includes a plurality of pixel electrode blocks 221 arranged separately, and a gap area 222 is provided between the plurality of adjacent pixel electrode blocks 221, and a supplementary electrode 223 is provided at the gap area 222. Further, each The supplementary electrode 223 is not connected to the adjacent pixel electrode block 221, thereby preventing the supplementary electrode 223 from interfering with the pixel electrode. Meanwhile, the supplementary electrode 223 and the common electrode 211 are arranged correspondingly in the vertical direction, that is, in the orthographic projection direction perpendicular to the first substrate 210, the pattern of the common electrode 211 covers the pattern of the supplementary electrode 223, thereby enabling an electric field to be generated between the common electrode 211 and the supplementary electrode 223. The electronic paper display 200 is provided with the supplementary electrode 223 between the pixel electrode blocks 221, thereby limiting the flow of the filling particles 231 through the electric field generated between the supplementary electrode 223 and the common electrode 211, thereby avoiding the disordered flow of the filling particles 231, and thus enabling the electronic paper display 200 to have a good display effect.

[0045] It should be noted that if Figure 3 As shown, the supplementary electrode 223 can be continuously arranged in the gap area 222, so that the electric field generated between the supplementary electrode 223 and the common electrode 211 can limit the area between each pixel electrode block 221 to a closed area, that is, the flow of the filling particles 231 in the area is restricted by a fixed electric field, so as to ensure that the filling particles 231 can be imaged in a fixed area when the picture is displayed. It can be understood that in some other embodiments, such as Figure 4 As shown, the supplementary electrode 223 can be arranged discontinuously in the gap area 222, that is, the supplementary electrode 223 consists of a plurality of parts connected to each other or the supplementary electrode 223 consists of a plurality of parts separated from each other. At this time, the electric field generated between the supplementary electrode 223 and the common electrode 211 limits the area between each pixel electrode block 221 to a semi-enclosed area. At this time, the flow of the filling particles 231 can be restricted to the semi-enclosed area by adjusting parameters such as voltage.

[0046] It should be noted that the common electrode 211 is arranged corresponding to the pixel electrode block 221 and the supplementary electrode 223 in the vertical direction, which means that the projection pattern of the common electrode 211 covers the projection pattern of the pixel electrode block 221 and the supplementary electrode 223 in the direction perpendicular to the positive projection of the common electrode 211. Specifically, Figure 1 As shown, the common electrode 211 can be a whole, that is, the common electrode 211 is a continuously arranged electrode layer.

[0047] It should be noted that, in some other embodiments, such as Figure 5 As shown, the common electrode 211 may include a first area 2111 and a second area 2112 that are discontinuously set, wherein the first area 2111 of the common electrode 211 corresponds to the pixel electrode block 221, and the second area 2112 of the common electrode 211 corresponds to the supplementary electrode 223, that is, the projection pattern of the first area 2111 of the common electrode 211 covers the projection pattern of the pixel electrode block 221, and the projection pattern of the second area 2112 of the common electrode 211 covers the projection pattern of the supplementary electrode 223. At this time, an electric field can be generated between the first area 2111 of the common electrode 211 and the pixel electrode block 221, and an electric field can be generated between the second area 2112 of the common electrode 211 and the supplementary electrode 223. By setting different areas separately, the convenience of adjusting parameters such as voltages in different areas can be improved to meet different usage scenarios.

[0048] It should be noted that the voltage and other parameters of the common electrode 211 and the pixel electrode block 221 and the supplementary electrode 223 can be adjusted according to different usage scenarios. For example, the voltage value of the common electrode 211 is greater than that of the pixel electrode block 221 and the supplementary electrode 223, or the voltage value of the common electrode 211 is the same as that of the pixel electrode block 221 and the supplementary electrode 223, or the voltage value of the common electrode 211 is smaller than that of the pixel electrode block 221 and the supplementary electrode 223. It can be understood that the voltage and other parameters of the upper and lower circuits can be adjusted according to different usage scenarios, and no specific limitation is made here.

[0049] It should be noted that the filling particles 231 are conductive particles that can produce at least two different colors. For example, the filling particles 231 are conductive particles of black and white colors, or the filling particles 231 are conductive particles of black, white and red colors.

[0050] It should be noted that the filling particles 231 may be conductive particles or structures such as microcapsules.

[0051] It should be noted that the common electrode 211 may be indium tin oxide (ITO).

[0052] According to one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 As shown, multiple supplementary electrodes 223 extend along the gap area 222, and the patterns of the multiple supplementary electrodes 223 are evenly distributed in the gap area 222. By evenly distributing the patterns of the gap area 222, the outsides of multiple pixel electrode blocks 221 can have the same supplementary electrode 223 patterns, thereby making the electric field formed between the supplementary electrodes 223 and the common electrode 211 outside the multiple pixel electrode blocks 221 uniform, which is more conducive to the same restriction effect on the filling particles 231 in each area, so that the imaging effect of each area is more uniform.

[0053] It should be noted that if Figure 3 As shown, the pattern of the plurality of supplementary electrodes 223 may be a continuous pattern that is all connected end to end, such as Figure 4 As shown, the patterns of the plurality of supplementary electrodes 223 may also be arranged in a manner that some areas are connected and some areas are not connected, as long as the patterns of the plurality of supplementary electrodes 223 are evenly distributed in the gap area 222. The continuity of the patterns of the supplementary electrodes 223 is not specifically limited.

[0054] According to one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 As shown, the gap area 222 corresponding to the outside of each pixel electrode block 221 is provided with a supplementary electrode 223, that is, by arranging the supplementary electrode 223 on each outer surface of the pixel electrode block 221, the electric field formed between the supplementary electrode 223 and the common electrode 211 forms a closed area for each pixel electrode block 221 in the vertical direction, and at this time, the flow of the filling particles 231 in the area can be better restricted.

[0055] According to one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 As shown, the ratio of the width of the supplementary electrode 223 to the width of the gap area 222 is less than 0.5, that is, in the width direction perpendicular to the length direction of the supplementary electrode 223, the width of the supplementary electrode 223 should not be too large to avoid interference caused by the connection between the supplementary electrode 223 and the adjacent pixel electrode block 221. It can be understood that the width of the supplementary electrode 223 should not be too small to avoid insufficient electric field strength between the supplementary electrode 223 and the common electrode 211, thereby poor restriction effect on the flow of filling particles 231. Preferably, the ratio of the width of the supplementary electrode 223 to the width of the gap area 222 is 0.2-0.5.

[0056] It should be noted that the width of the gap region 222 can be 2 to 20 μm, in which case the width of the supplementary electrode 223 is 1 to 10 μm, and in this case the ratio of the width of the supplementary electrode 223 to the width of the gap region 222 needs to be less than 0.5. For example, the width of the gap region 222 is 3 μm, and the width of the supplementary electrode 223 is 1 μm, or the width of the gap region 222 is 12 μm, and the width of the supplementary electrode 223 is 5 μm, or the width of the gap region 222 is 15 μm, and the width of the supplementary electrode 223 is 7 μm, or the width of the gap region 222 is 20 μm, and the width of the supplementary electrode 223 is 9 μm.

[0057] According to one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, it also includes an edge supplementary electrode 224, and multiple supplementary electrodes 223 are connected to the edge supplementary electrode 224, that is, by guiding multiple supplementary electrodes 223 to the same edge supplementary electrode 224, through the series connection of multiple supplementary electrodes 223, the electric field strength between the supplementary electrodes 223 in each area and the common electrode 211 is made the same, so that the restriction effect of each area on the flow of filling particles 231 is more uniform, which is more conducive to improving the overall display effect.

[0058] Figure 6 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an electronic paper display 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention,

[0059] According to one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 6 As shown, a partition wall 240 is also included, the top of the partition wall 240 is in contact with the first substrate 210, and the bottom of the partition wall 240 is overlapped on the supplementary electrode 223. By setting the partition wall 240, the area corresponding to each pixel electrode block 221 can have a solid partition object. At the same time, the electric field generated between the supplementary electrode 223 and the common electrode 211 further enhances the sealing effect, which can more effectively improve the restriction on the flow of filling particles 231, thereby improving the overall display effect.

[0060] It should be noted that the bottom of the partition wall 240 can be completely overlapped on the supplementary electrode 223, that is, at this time, the size of the bottom of the partition wall 240 is completely consistent with the size of the supplementary electrode 223, or, the bottom of the partition wall 240 can be partially overlapped on the supplementary electrode 223, for example, a part of the bottom of the partition wall 240 overlaps on the supplementary electrode 223, and the other part overlaps on the gap area 222.

[0061] According to one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 6As shown, the bottom of the partition wall 240 covers the supplementary electrode 223. It can be understood that at this time, the size of the bottom of the partition wall 240 is the same as the size of the supplementary electrode 223 or the size of the bottom of the partition wall 240 is larger. At this time, the bottom of the partition wall 240 is partially overlapped on the supplementary electrode 223 and partially overlapped on the gap area 222, or the bottom of the partition wall 240 can be partially overlapped on the supplementary electrode 223. By setting the bottom of the partition wall 240 to completely cover the supplementary electrode 223, the sealing performance of the bottom of the partition wall 240 can be better, and at the same time, the stability performance of the bottom of the partition wall 240 can be better.

[0062] According to one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 6 As shown, the partition wall 240 is a transparent insulating material. It can be understood that the partition wall 240 requires insulating material to avoid electrical signal interference between the partition wall 240 and the supplementary electrode 223 and the common electrode 211. At the same time, the partition wall 240 needs to be a transparent material to avoid absorption or reflection of external light. Preferably, the partition wall 240 can be a photolithography OC glue.

[0063] According to one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 6 As shown, a color filter 212 is disposed on the first substrate 210 , and the light entering from the outside is filtered by the color filter 212 , thereby achieving a color display effect.

[0064] It should be noted that, in some other embodiments, such as Figure 7 As shown, the common electrode 211 and the color filter 212 may include two partial regions that are set discontinuously. By setting different partial regions separately, the convenience of adjusting parameters such as voltages in different regions can be improved to meet different usage scenarios.

[0065] Reference below Figure 8 An electronic device 20 according to an embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention is described. Figure 8 As shown, the electronic device 20 includes an electronic paper display 200. Specifically, the electronic paper display 200 is provided with a supplementary electrode 223 between the pixel electrode blocks 221, so that the flow of the filling particles 231 is restricted by the electric field generated between the supplementary electrode 223 and the common electrode 211, thereby avoiding the disordered flow of the filling particles 231, and thus making the electronic paper display 200 have a good display effect.

[0066] It should be noted that the electronic device 20 may be a device with a display screen, such as an electronic reader, an electronic tag, or a smart watch. It is understandable that the electronic device 20 may also be other electronic products, which are not specifically limited here.

[0067] The electronic device and electronic paper display provided above for this application are preferred embodiments and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present application. Those skilled in the art should be aware that various improvements or substitutions may be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and all improvements or substitutions should be within the scope of protection of the present application, that is, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the claims.

[0068] In the absence of conflict, the above embodiments and features in the embodiments may be combined with each other.

Claims

1. An electronic paper display, characterized in that: It includes a first substrate and a second substrate arranged opposite to each other in a vertical direction, a filling particle layer is arranged between the first substrate and the second substrate, a common electrode is arranged on the first substrate, and a pixel electrode is arranged on the second substrate, wherein the pixel electrode includes a plurality of pixel electrode blocks arranged separately, a gap area is provided between the plurality of adjacent pixel electrode blocks, a supplementary electrode is arranged in the gap area, each supplementary electrode is not connected to the adjacent pixel electrode block, and the supplementary electrode and the common electrode are arranged correspondingly in the vertical direction.

2. The electronic paper display according to claim 1, characterized in that: The plurality of supplementary electrodes extend along the gap region, and patterns of the plurality of supplementary electrodes are evenly distributed in the gap region.

3. The electronic paper display according to claim 2, characterized in that: The supplementary electrode is disposed in the gap area outside each pixel electrode block.

4. The electronic paper display according to claim 2, characterized in that: A ratio of a width of the supplementary electrode to a width of the gap region is less than 0.

5.

5. The electronic paper display according to claim 2, characterized in that: It also includes an edge supplementary electrode, and a plurality of the supplementary electrodes are connected to the edge supplementary electrode.

6. The electronic paper display according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a partition wall, the top of which is in contact with the first substrate, and the bottom of which is overlapped on the supplementary electrode.

7. The electronic paper display according to claim 6, characterized in that: The bottom of the partition wall covers the supplementary electrode.

8. The electronic paper display according to claim 6, characterized in that: The partition wall is made of transparent insulating material.

9. The electronic paper display according to claim 1, characterized in that: A color filter is arranged on the first substrate.

10. An electronic device, characterized in that: The electronic paper display described is as described in any one of claims 1-9.

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